Will Bulgaria survive and thrive ?

Taxes on sales of property in Sofia is considered to be a major contributor to the municipal budget of the capital. However, figures reveal a disappointing level of contribution & Sofia is feeling the pinch.

Real estate in Bulgaria as a whole has been struggling, but in Sofia the estimated 26% of municipal budget was a long way short as the financial grip tightens. In fact only 28% of what was needed was collected in property sale taxes & the city is now running on a tight margin.

News for Sofia comes as a mixed bag, some good, some terrible but although funding performance may be down for the first three quarters of 2009, local government have contingencies whereby the deficit will be made up on tighter controls on other areas where collections are overdue.

Aspects of news like this will continue pepper the market throughout the prolonged recovery. The overall message is that despite any disappointing news, local governments, businesses, developers etc, are all becoming leaner, fitter and wiser.

Bulgaria will turn survive into thrive, and now is the time to invest.